Category Archives: Writing

Writer's retreat, Writers mingling, Writing

Writer’s Retreat

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Before I got sick, I was honored to be invited to attend a writer’s retreat in South Carolina. Joining me were three wonderful ladies and writers. We were just off the beach, maybe a two-minute walk, maybe. It was wonderful for on one side was the beach as you heard the seagulls and waves crashing while on the opposite side of the condos were marshes which included herons and cranes.

It was beautiful, peaceful and a great change to write. What was really nice was the four of us moving as one. The first day found my friend Seven, yes that is her name, on the patio writing, I was on the beach writing while the others were in separate rooms doing the same thing. And we just shift from room to room, beach to marsh, patio to the porch and so on and so on. We would gather at night to talk about what we wrote, read what we wrote as we broke into food, games and giggles.

It was short and went by to dang fast. But it was a wonderful time to get away from electronics and work on a passion we all share, writing.

 

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Killing a character, Writing, Writing Plots

Killing my hero

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“Is it okay to kill your main character?” I asked two of my writer friends at a coffee shop last week. They both stared at me.

“Well, is it?”

This little innocent question, in my mind, started a whole conversation on why it is and isn’t okay to do so. When is it okay to kill one’s character? The whole point of the book I am working on is for my hero to end for a worthy cause, one that will change and start a revolution. Hey it works in the movies, and I am sure there are books out there that have done this same thing. But when Robin mentioned I left nothing for a sequel if I did t hat my response was, “I’m not planning a sequel to this book.”

Again, they started at me in disbelief.

For me to not have my hero die would mean I would have to totally revise my book and the plots inside of it. I’m really not a fan of that, it would make the novel something that was never my intent. Granted, it could make it even better. But I know inside I will not be changing my WIP in that respect. I might change the ending a bit so there can be a sequel which in my writer friends mind would justify her dying. We will see. I am on page 20 of edits so I have a while to go.

Author Sharon C. Williams, WIP, Writing

My WIPs

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As with most writers, we tend to have more than one writing project in the works. This didn’t use to me though. When I first started my writing journey I kept it to one project at a time. That evolved to me writing notes and ideas down of potential projects. Sadly and happily that notebook has exploded into pages and pages of thoughts for writing adventures. Added to that is a list of people who have expressed an interested in collaborating with me for potential projects. A few years has gone by since I first started and now I have projects out of my yang yang.

At the moment this is what I have: finishing Jasper 3 which is a children’s series based on my Amazon parrot, finishing Lost Faith, my NaNoWriMo book winner from 2013, which is a YA book based in the future, finishing A Woman of Color, my NaNoWriMo book winner from 2011, an adult true life story, finalizing the pictures for Squirrel Mafia which is a true comic relief story andmy latest interview for the magazine I now freelance for

Eventually I will get to Moe’s Cafe which is adult fiction and my first attempt at a crime story. This was my NaNoWriMo book winner for 2012. I have now lovingly labeled my notebook of ideas to “Whenever I have time to write these books” notebook.

When I went over the list in my head this past weekend I had realized I was interchanging from children to YA to adult and back and have been doing this for the last few weeks. I am surprised how easily I can transcend from different characters and plots. But maybe it is easy since the characters and their lives are so vivid in my head and have been for so long they are now part of my brain function.

Whatever the case, these are the projects I am working on to keep me busy and in some case sane from everyday life.